An Untimely Frost Read Free Page B

canna’ imagine him not lookin’ fer a friendly game, but he never mentioned anyplace to me.”
    He glanced around, leaned across the counter, and spoke out of the corner of his mouth, with barely a movement of his lips. “The coppers were in here a day er two ago lookin’ fer him, so I expect yer Timmy boy is off to greener pastures.”
    The finality of that possibility settled over her like a wet gunny sack, and her bold persona slipped. Faced at every turn with proof of Tim’s perfidy, it was becoming harder and harder to convince herself that the incident at the boardinghouse was some sort of terrible mistake. Ignorance truly was bliss, and she wished with all her heart that she had not embarked on this fool’s journey and heard these terrible things about him. She thanked MacGregor for his time and turned to go.
    â€œMissus!” She looked over her shoulder at him. “It’s not yer fault he’s a liar and a cheat. I doubt you’re the first pretty lady to be taken in by Tim Warner, and I can promise you won’t be the last. Why, he even duped Colleen, and she’s not one easily gummed.”
    â€œThat he did, Danny boy.”
    The statement came from behind Lilly, who turned to see the woman who’d been staring at her earlier. The scantily clad, henna-haired creature squinted at Lilly through the smoke curling from the cigarillo she lifted to her lips. At first, Lilly took the floozy to be near her own age; closer inspection noted a furrowed forehead, a fine network of crow’s feet at the corners of the woman’s eyes, and a softness of the jawline that even her painted features failed to disguise.
    Her makeup was every bit as heavy as what Lilly wore onstage. Garish red lip paint bled into the fine lines around a mouth whose left corner was adorned with a beauty patch. Rouged cheekbones stood out against a heavy dusting of powder. The kohl lining her jaded blue eyes was smudged. The sweet, cloying scent of cheap toilet water mingled with the smoke wreathing her head.
    Lilly’s stomach lurched once more. “Who are you?” she demanded.
    â€œColleen McKenna.” She propped one hand on a plump hip and drew deeply on the cigarillo. “Boatwright and Daniel aren’t the only ones Tim Warner owes.”
    Shock coursed through Lilly. Sheltered as she might have been, she didn’t have to ask what the woman meant. Once more, her acting skills stood her in good stead. She summoned an imperious tone. “Are you suggesting . . . ?”
    Colleen dropped the butt of her smoke onto the floor and ground it out with the scuffed toe of a red satin slipper. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m tellin’ ya that yer husband owes me for three nights.”
    â€œ . . . the thrill of bedding an innocent lost its appeal weeks ago. ”
    Lilly wanted to scream that Colleen McKenna was lying, but the truth was in the woman’s eyes and the memory of Tim’s taunt. Unable to keep up the charade of sophistication any longer, she gathered the remnants of her composure and crossed the room, half blinded by tears of loss and degradation. As she passed the bouncer, she thought she saw a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
    Fighting the urge to cry—more because she was so mortified than because she was hurt—she jerked open the door, slammed it shut behind her, and leaned against it, gulping in deep drafts of the cold, cleansing air. A picture of Tim’s body pressed against Colleen’s flickered through her mind. Lilly uttered a mild curse and swiped angrily at the moisture in her eyes, as if doing so would wipe away the image.
    Tim Warner had dealt her a lot of misery the past four months, and she’d forgiven him time and again. This newest betrayal was impossible to comprehend much less reconcile, yet one thing was certain. He had exhausted every possible means of hurting her.
    Drawing on her stubborn will, she